tlou

Cailee Spaeny is having a rocket-like career trajectory at the moment, starring in the titular role of Priscilla, co-leading Civil War, about to head to season 2 of the Emmy-winning Beef, she’s currently the star of the well-reviewed, well-performing Alien: Romulus

But now some viewers are wondering why she didn’t land a different role, that of Ellie Williams in season 2 of The Last of Us. Or at the very least, it’s fun to wonder what could have been.

If you’ve both watched Alien: Romulus and played The Last of Us Part 2, you should immediately understand this. The resemblance between Spaeny, especially in this movie, and the aged-up, grittier Ellie is uncanny.

What makes this even better is the fact that Spaeny’s acting partner for much of this movie is Isabela Merced, quite literally the actress playing Ellie’s love interest Dina in the next season of The Last of Us. So it’s not only Spaeny looking like Ellie, it’s scenes with literal Dina as well.

Of course, Spaeny has nothing to do with season 2 of The Last of Us as that adaptation of Part 2 begins. That role continues to be played by Bella Ramsey, who was nominated for an Emmy for season 1. Many wondered how they might take on the role before the season aired, and they did not much resemble Ellie from the games, but they did an excellent job.

Part 2 is a different story. It’s a five year time-jump from the games and Ellie is supposed to noticeably physically age and become more hardened and intense. So now people are wondering again if they should have stayed on in the role, and I’ve seen some actually saying that Spaeny should have replaced them for season 2/Part 2, given how much she looks like Ellie from that game. She likely would have been too old to play young Ellie before this, though (Spaeny is 26).